The winds and spirit of the world

I have a daughter on her second trip to Burkina Faso and these pictures Curt has taken remind me so much of the love our daughter has for the country of Africa. She is in another part of the country but the life style reflects what we see and hear from her. Your postings bring the heartfelt happiness you all are spreading throughout Tanzania. The details of your day make our days here seem relatively mundane. It is such a pleasure knowing that CHI hospitals helped give "kill malaria" a very real meaning- our donations were fruitful. You are a very lucky group of special people to take this from us to them; the experience is one that we all are sharing through your writing and pictures. Please keep sending this loving information to us; many of us wish we could be there with you. Give my best to Tony! Sincerely, Marene

St. Joe's Team at Slahhamo Village

Posted by Pat Bosse. Jambo! After the pageant and ceremony of the kick-off celebration at Getamock Village on Wednesday, Thursday’s visit to Slahhamo Village was far more intimate, and a wonderful contrast for us. The team from St. Joseph arrived in the village after traveling about an hour from Karatu – mostly along rutted roads of red, dusty clay. We keep the windows open, but quickly slide them shut when faced with an oncoming ‘traffic’ (which is very seldom once you leave Karatu town). The landscape as we travel through more remote areas is starkly beautiful. It is not hard to imagine life here as unchanged since Biblical times – we see women gathering water for their families at a well, a boy herding his goats along the road (how obediently they move out of our way when he waves the long reed he carried in command), men driving an overflowing cart of dried corn stalks – mounded higher than wisdom suggests, but somehow stable – pulled by four plodding and sturdy cows. Polly, our infection control expert, asks the driver to stop at the well so that she can test the water. Polly will have the results from her testing today – but our driver, Sos Peter, took a drink and declared it ‘very good.’ I think that all of us said a quiet prayer that Sos was right – water is a precious commodity here, and there has been very little of it in recent months. The well seemed to be productive and the herds of goats and cattle waiting patiently for their buckets to arrive looked healthy. We arrived in Slahhamo Village close to 10 o’clock. Dr. Slaa, a Member of Parliament representing the Karatu District, was at our car to greet us and make introductions. We met Joseph, the tall and handsome Village Executive Chairman. At 28, he clearly commands respect from the people. He has an intelligence and intensity that shine through his eyes and into his greetings to us – in very good English. Joseph put on our Village Wellness t-shirt and was a dashing sight as Village leader! Gail, Amanda and Polly made a quick trip down the road to the village dispensary to deliver medical supplies. John, Tony, Curt and I stayed with Dr. Slaa, Joseph and other leaders to get a sense of how the distribution would unfold. Curt set up his ever-present video camera behind the group of 350 or more who were sitting on the ground in the shade of large trees for the festivities. Men and women were separated – men on the right, women on the left. The morning sunlight filtering through the leaves painted the women’s brightly colored fabric with even greater splendor. It was a feast for the eyes. (Curt, I think, has been on media production overload – there is a richness and intensity to everything.) The ceremony began with a traditional African prayer, in Swahili, of course. Several of our friends helped to translate, but sometimes the dialect became very old and deep, and even they could not follow the path. The concluding rite was a litany of prayers for health, for ‘the clouds to be hungry for rain,’ for relief from malaria, for relief from HIV/AIDS, for a good harvest, and so on. The cadence to the elder’s chant – and the people’s response – was universal. Close your eyes, and you were anywhere, buried in the rhythms of a communal prayer. Christian prayer followed. The nets were blessed, and there was a thanksgiving for the opportunity to protect the 6655 people who live within the boundaries of the Slahhamo Village from malaria. Slahhamo is a Christian village, mostly Lutheran, with a simple but lovely brick church. It is perhaps the nicest building in the village. Dr. Slaa then spoke at length, educating the people about the nets and how to use them properly. He is a dynamic speaker! The people clearly know and like him. They respond with vigor to his questions and promptings. Finally, he greets John with genuine affection, wrapping his arm tightly around John’s shoulder as he introduces John to the people. Dr. Slaa tells the story of John’s deep love and commitment to the people of Karatu, the work of the Village Wellness Project, and the friendship that extends beyond oceans and time zones. Hearing St. Joseph Medical Center spoken so many times – buried in Swahili – was a treat. That part needed no translation for any of us on the team! Dr. Slaa also spoke of John’s parents – Don and Joann – and their remarkable commitment to Faraja and Karatu. The villagers listen to every detail of Dr. Slaa’s stories about John, his parents, St. Joseph Medical Center as if studying for finals, applauding with smiles and genuine emotion. It is something to witness. Travel guides and briefing books don’t quite prepare you for such wonderful moments of warmth and hospitality. John earlier had asked me to offer remarks on behalf of our team and present a monetary gift of $200 USD to Joseph, the Village Executive, to be used as the village leaders decided for health care and education. This would not be a normal role for a women in Tanzania – so when I asked if my speaking would offend anyone, John simply said that he thought that we should do things the ‘Joann Tolmie’ way! (Good training, Mrs Tolmie!) It was certainly not the kind of speaking environment for powerpoint presentations and pie charts. You speak from the heart and look into the eyes of the people – truly beautiful people, young and old, men and women. They were rapt in their attention as I offered words of greeting from our St. Joseph Team here in Tanzania and back home in Towson. I thought about Leigh Chapman in Towson, knowing how hard she worked to help us prepare for our visit. Her greetings and affection for the people of Tanzania were intermingled with mine and everyone else’s today. (I also learned that I sound so much better in Swahili, too.) Following the speeches, there was a demonstration of how the bed nets should be hung and used (complete with live bodies under them), followed by a ‘ceremonial’ presentation of one bed net to each of the 9 sub-village leaders. Then, the storage barn nearby was opened and the giant bales of nets were unloaded and handed off with precision to each of the sub-villages. During this process, we took Joseph and a teacher from the school with us in for a quick drive to the school to deliver supplies to the children. Along the way, boys were on a field playing soccer (with breathtaking landscapes beyond). We stopped and youthful and (ahem) limber President and CEO hopped out with several of the soccer balls we were delivering and joined in the play. No hat tricks for John, but maybe a few sore muscles today. Watch for the video on YouTube soon. We visited the school, then set off for 2 home visits of Faraja children. They were special opportunities, but are yet another significant chapter in the story of our visit. I will end this too-long entry with our departure from remarkable visit to Slahhamo, and pick up later on the visit to the homes of Petro and Esta. Asante Sana (Thank you very much) for reading such a missive!

THURSDAY -- OUR GLOBAL FRIENDSHIP IN ACTION

Posted by Diane Jones. On Thursday, we split into two teams to continue the distribution of nets to villages in the Karatu District. One of the teams visited the village of Ayalabe. We were met by the women and young children of the village with a traditional welcome dance in which the women on our team were invited to participate. We began our morning with a visit to the village primary (elementary) school. The school has an enrollment of more than 950 students divided into classrooms of more than 50 children each. The teachers and students provided and enthusiastic welcome. We left gifts of school supplies, toys and soccer balls for the students and the teachers. All of the schoolchildren joined with village leaders and hundreds of residents in a ceremony prior to the net distribution. The ceremony included traditional song and dance and an educational session about the proper use of nets. Village leaders demonstrated how to use a net. Kirk Dignum, Mercy Regional Medical Center President and CEO, helped to distribute the nets to the sub village leaders who distributed the nets for families within their sub village region. The ceremony closed with dance and a special song of appreciation, joy, and love for our global friendship.

Internet Challenges

TIA (This is Africa!) Power blackouts, internet access, computer equipment and a rather rigorous schedule have made postings a challenge. Two are waiting on our zip for an opportune time to be deployed -- when the computer agrees to cooperate! In the meantime, please know that all the messages from home are gratefully received. Asante Sana, Pat Bosse

AMAZING GRACE

Good morning Team, What an amazing time! I am here in my office imagining you all covered in that red dust after such a wonderful experience. All of our love here is with you all in Tanzania. I cannot wait to welcome you all home and hear of all the gracious work. Thank you for keeping us posted. I miss you. Stay strong and well, Leigh

NET DISTRIBUTION KICKOFF CELEBRATION in GETAMOCK village

Posted by Meghan Ray

Wednesday we departed after our morning reflection to Getamock Village about an hour from Karatu town. We heard last night from Dr. Slaa (Karatu member of Parliament) that preparations were well underway and that they expected more than 2,000 villagers to come to the ceremonies!! Wow! We arrived at Getamock and parked in a big field. In front of us was shaded structure for the guests of honor. The villagers were putting the finishing touches on the decorations as we arrived. We are not sure if the pink fabric along the roof was in honor of Breast Cancer awareness month, but who knows? A few of us went to the dispensary to deliver some supplies before the ceremonies started. Dr. Cunningham worked with Agnes, the nurse midwife, to show her how to use the blood glucometer. When we came in January, Agnes shared her ideas about attracting more patients to her dispensary. Because we couldn’t deliver a TV to her waiting room, we settled for bringing some baby blankets instead!

As the ceremonies started at 10:00am, villagers were still lining up to see the festivities. By this time they were stacked 10 deep along the ropes. The colors and patterns of the traditional dresses were vibrant and beautiful. Seated against the ropes were hundreds of schoolchildren dressed in their uniforms and ready for us to begin. The ceremony and pageantry in Tanzania is unlike anything most of us have ever seen. Each sub village presented a song or dance to the honored guests in brightly colored clothing. Drummers kept the beat while the dancers chanted and moved in formation. All of these songs represented a welcome to Getamock, gratitude for our gifts and daily life in the village. Some of the dancers stomped so hard that the ground shook under our feet! It was spectacular! After about an hour of song, we began the speeches. The Bishops from the Catholic and Lutheran dioceses were there, a representative from USAID/US Embassy, Charles Llewelyn, Dr. Slaa, Representative from the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Mr. Mliga, and they were joined on the dais by John Tolmie, CEO of St. Joseph Medical Center and Kirk Dignum, CEO of Mercy Regional. Since this was such a special occasion, each representative talked (mostly in Swahili) for quite some time. It makes speeches in the US look fast! Each speech emphasized the importance of bed nets and using them properly to protect against malaria. “Kataa Malaria” is the Swahili phrase for Kill Malaria and we heard that often. This day is so important to the health of the village. With a free net, people can immediately begin to protect themselves. Since we delivered the nets to the village, people didn’t have to make a 3 hour walk to town to redeem a net voucher that is too expensive. Our partnership with the government, CHI, St. Joseph and all of the Village Wellness workers means that people will be able to enjoy an immediate benefit to their health and well-being. The nets we ordered from A-Z textile mills in Arusha have packaging with educational information printed in Swahili to instruct in proper care and usage of the net. During our ceremony we blessed all of the nets and also had a bed and nets prepared to demonstrate how to sleep under a net

The ceremonies continued with more song and dance and also gift giving. The Mercy, St. Joseph and CHI team were presented with traditional African fabrics. John Tolmie presented the Bishops with commemorative books from the Basilica in Baltimore signed by Cardinal Keeler. After the ceremony ended at 1:30pm, we were treated to a traditional feast of rice, vegetables, plantains, beef, chicken and potatoes and very special cake. For those of you who do not know, traditional Tanzanian cake is a GOAT. Not goat in the shape of a cake, but a whole entire goat carried into the room with leaves stuffed in its mouth and carved right in front of you. Before you eat this goat, it is blessed and presented ceremoniously to the guests of honor on a plate. Then you take a piece and pass the plate to the next person. If you don’t enjoy eating meat that was just carved from the animal sitting next to you then it is advised to look like you do anyway to be culturally appropriate. Some of our group mysteriously disappeared as the goat entered the room. I wonder why…? ;0) Our hosts also prepared traditional American yellow cake with frosting which complimented the goat quite nicely.

As the afternoon sun got stronger and the goat digested, we mingled with some of the villagers, especially the children. They are so curious to see us and say hello. Many of them giggle when you wave or say hi. Taking photos of children on digital cameras and showing them the picture results in hysterical laughter. Some of them have never seen their own reflections! The children that weren’t following us around were sitting up in the trees watching the music and dancing that was still going on.

We finished the day witnessing the net distribution procedure. People were so excited about receiving nets that they did not want to wait until tomorrow. Hundreds of people gathered to watch the nets retrieved from a shed, get blessed and carried to the sub-villages for distribution. Each village has sub-villages and a chairman who is responsible for representing the families within it. After careful thought by Tony and the Village Wellness Team, this process was determined to be the most efficient for distribution, education and tracking. Watching bales of nets carried through the crowd was pretty spectacular. How amazing to watch the generosity of so many people at St. Joseph Medical Center, Mercy Regional Medical Center and CHI impact people’s lives like that. The people of Getamock and Karatu thank you. ASANTE SANA.

We arrived back at Kudu Lodge, happy and tired from this amazing day and also covered in layers of red dust!

Tomorrow, net distribution continues in Slahhamo and Ayalabe villages.